Paige Bueckers, a UConn basketball player, will return for another season: ‘Not finished yet.’
Paige Bueckers, a University of Connecticut star, says she is “not done yet.”
Bueckers announced her return for the 2024-25 season during UConn’s Senior Night ceremony on Friday, following the Huskies’ 85-44 victory over Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.
“I understand everyone wants me to confront the elephant in the room. Unfortunately, this will not be my final Senior Night at UConn since I am returning,” Bueckers declared to loud applause.
“I’m not done yet here,” Bueckers later stated in an on-court interview. “I feel as if God is still writing my tale here. I’m just grateful to be a part of this program, and I never want it to end.”
Bueckers stated that time missed due to injury influenced her choice to return. She was forced to miss the 2022-23 season after tearing the ACL in her left knee during a pickup game in August 2022, just before her junior year. She redshirted that season, earning an additional year of eligibility.
“I cannot express how much this program and you have meant to me. “The best student section in the country,” Bueckers, who concluded Friday’s game with 21 points, eight assists, and three steals, informed the audience. “Obviously, these four years did not go as planned or as I had hoped, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I wouldn’t have made it through what I did if everyone here hadn’t been so supportive.”
Bueckers was awarded the AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year in 2021 after a stellar freshman season in which she averaged 20 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 46.4% from three. She guided the Huskies to a Final Four appearance.
She was limited to 17 games her sophomore year after undergoing surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus rupture in December 2021. Despite Bueckers’ limited availability, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament Championship Game before falling to South Carolina. She ended the season averaging 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game.
Bueckers stated on Friday that “family camaraderie, loving it here (at UConn), loving my teammates, and loving my coaches” are the reasons she opted to stay another season.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma stated he was unaware of Bueckers’ choice until she revealed it to the arena. He continued, “Paige is extremely lousy at making judgments. “When we were recruiting her, I had to threaten her because she couldn’t decide.”
